Mind Games
by clayfish32
Summary: One-shot. Castle and Beckett play a few games to pass the time after wrapping a case. Rated T for suggestive content.


**A/N: This is my first Castle fic as well as the first story I've written in quite a while. Not beta'd. Thanks for reading. Reviews are more than welcome.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own 'em. **

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**Mind Games**

"Castle."

"Detective?"

"Richard."

"Beckett?"

"Rick."

"Kate?"

"Ricky."

"Becks? Hey you know what 'Becks' sounds like?"

"Dick. Oh!" She covered her mouth as quickly as it had popped out.

"Ah, she blushes." He gently tugged her arm away from her face and settled back into his small ringside seat. They were currently sitting alone; the bullpen long ago having been abandoned by her daytime dwellers. They'd wrapped a case and he had waited, despite her protests, until the paperwork was finished. She now rested her forehead on her desk and was trying to hide the fact that her ears were turning beet red.

"I suppose you win," he sighed trying to look serious, and shook his head slowly.

She lifted her head to reveal a sly smile and wiped the moisture from her eyes.

His mouth quickly formed a pout. "Geeze, I was only kidding. I didn't mean to make you cry."

She sucked in a deep breath to calm herself and started giggling when she felt her facade begin to slip. "Really Castle? _Sex_?" She broke into a fit of giggles once more before straightening and trying to maintain some composure.

His eyes went wide and he gasped. "Detective I am shocked that you would jump to such a conclusion. I was going to say-"

"What?" She asked, dead pan. "What_ were_ you going to say?"

_Becks. Sex. Becks. Sex. Becks. Sex._

"Pyrex?"

"Bake-ware?" She asked incredulously, one eyebrow raised.

"T-rex. Playtex. Ooh, no go back, go back, wait. Uh..." _Becks. Sex. Becks. Sex. Becks. Sex. _

"Castle?" She placed a hand on his forearm. "It's ok."

"Wha- Well I guess so Miss 'Mind in the Gutter'. You're the one who said-"

She yanked her hand back. "Dick is a perfectly legitimate nickname for Richard." She wanted to wipe that smug smile off of his face, but to do so the way she wanted to required a bit more privacy-despite the fact that they were alone. She placed both of her hands on the desk palms down.

He peered at her with guilty eyes over folded hands. "Let's play something different. Perhaps a rhyming game."

"I wasn't aware we were playing anything." Though her voice was flat, the twinkle in her eyes betrayed her. "What rhymes with..." she looked around, "chair?" It was as good as anything else for inspiration.

He was eager to keep the verbal sparring going, "Air."

"Fair."

"Rare."

"Bare."

"As in naked? or skin-rug?" He grinned.

She muttered something about "...a new word" as she got the last of the paperwork together and tapped it on the desktop to make the pile neat.

He looked around for a moment. "Ok. What rhymes with..." as he took a quick sweep around the room he noticed that she was chewing on her "...Lip?"

"Skip."

"Ship."

"Slip."

"Whip." He grinned again.

She frowned. "Castle. Be good. Maybe the game should be seeing how long we can keep going without _you_ making it dirty."

"Who me?" He looked at her in mock surprise. "Are you accusing me of something Detective?"

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about. Well, that word's dead. Ok, what rhymes with 'gun'?"

"Sun, of the astronomical variety," he smirked.

"Run."

"Fun."

"One. Of the numerical variety," she clarified.

"Pun."

"None, as in zip, zero, zilch."

"Hon, as in abbreviation for 'Honey'."

"Lunge."

"Young."

"Bun."

"Son."

"Won."

"C-"

"Castle, I swear." She cut him off before the word was out of his mouth.

"But..."

"No."

He grinned sheepishly and shrugged. "I don't know what came over me." He waggled his eyebrows. She glared back.

"Ton," he sighed, lifting his hands in surrender.

"Nun, as in celibate."

"Done," he responded, "Now I'm depressed. Let's pick a new word."

"Fine," she conceded as she stood stretching. She stepped away from the desk and grabbed for her jacket. "You start."

He helped her into the jacket and placed a tentative hand on the small of her back as they walked together towards the elevator. They stepped inside, and as the doors closed he took her hand and said, "Tough."

She released his hand, and, staring straight ahead replied, "stuff."

He took her hand again, this time enveloping it in both of his. Bringing it to his lips he gave it a quick kiss and said, "glove."

She stepped quickly through the doors as they opened. "Hover."

Castle was right behind her and cupped her ears briefly before saying "muff."

Not bothering to hail a cab she started walking briskly down the sidewalk muttering, "covet."

He, having the advantage of longer legs, caught up quickly and cut into her path diverting her down an abandoned, though relatively safe looking, alley. "Above," he said, continuing the game.

She wasn't angry with him, quite the opposite actually. She was thrilled that they'd been able to keep things going longer than expected, but she near growled at him just the same. "Dove," she spat, knowing he would appreciate the incongruity of her tone and the word she'd chosen.

He grabbed her wrist and twisted her so that her back was against the wall. He knew that she could lay him flat if she wanted to. He also knew that she knew that he knew that, and it made him want to smile. But he didn't.

Instead he leaned in so close that they were sharing air. The both took short quick breaths.

She didn't blink.

"Love," it came out a whisper.

"Enough," she said, spinning him so that their positions were now reversed, and closed the space between them.

After what felt like the briefest of moments he pushed her back leaving her lops wanting more. He leaned down until his forehead rested on hers and played with an errant strand of her hair. He took a slow breath in through his nose inhaling her scent and gently tucked the strand behind her ear, finger grazing her cheek as he did so, then tracing a light trail back to her lops where he let it rest.

"Care to take this party elsewhere?" he asked in a rough whisper.

She quirked an eyebrow and lightly kissed his finger before backing away and turning on her heel to head back towards the sidewalk. It was so quiet that he nearly missed it, but he was sure he heard her as she turned back over her shoulder and under her breath, muttered, "That's probably a good idea. I wouldn't want to have to arrest both of us for indecent exposure in a public place."

He swallowed hard and hurried ahead of her to hail a taxi.

Fin.

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**A/N2: Again, reviews are ENCOURAGED...please. **


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